2024 - MLB Draft Thread

[Quin]

8 hours ago, Boopa1219 said:

I think that’s insulting to Nick Kurtz

I mean, this is pretty much what people were saying about Vaughn and then he was immediately flying up the prospect boards as a 1B because of his hit tool.

[bmags]

I like both Iowa pitchers, Brecht/morgan will be fun to watch.

[Harold's Leg Lift]

Griffin reclassified and likely has the highest ceiling of any position player in the draft.  You sure don't see many 17 yr olds built like this. He has all the tools/athleticism you look for so as always it's gonna come down to how much a team thinks he's gonna hit. If he stays like this the likelihood is pretty good.  

 

[DirtySox]

BA has updated 2024 draft rankings up. Will post the top 15. Boy is it college heavy at the top. Don't see a prep until #11.

Quote

1.) Nick Kurtz

2.) JJ Wetherholt

3.) Travis Bazzana

4.) Jac Caglianone

5.) Mike Sirota

6.) Vance Honeycutt

7.) Chase Burns

8.) Seaver King

9.) Braden Montgomery

10.) Tommy White

11.) Konor Griffin

12.) PJ Morlando

13.) Caleb Bonemer

14.) Charlie Condon

15.) Brody Brecht

https://www.baseballamerica.com/rankings/2024-top-mlb-draft-prospects/

Edited November 28, 2023 by DirtySox

[DirtySox]

I am really not a fan of the profile at the top of the class. The writeup on Konnor Griffin is more my style though. Exciting sounding player. Sign me up.

Quote

11. Konnor Griffin OF

Ht: 6'4" | Wt: 210 | B-T: R-R

School: Jackson Prep, Flowood, Miss.. Commit/Drafted: Louisiana State

Age At Draft: 18.2

As a freshman in 2022, Griffin led his high school team to a state title. After the season ended, Griffin announced that he was reclassifying from the 2025 to the 2024 class, making him the No. 1 high school player for 2024. This spring, he led Jackson Prep to another state championship, hitting .537/.636/.951 in 107 plate appearances with nearly more home runs (8) than he had strikeouts (9). Griffin excels both as a position player (at shortstop and center field) as well as on the mound, with an electric package of athleticism, physical upside, tools and ability to hit in games. He has a long, strong and high-waist frame with broad shoulders and more space to continue adding strength. Even as one of the younger 2024 players, his tools already stack up among the best in the class. He’s a bouncy athlete with plus-plus speed and a plus arm that could tick up to become a 70 tool. At the plate, Griffin sets up with his hands crunched behind his head, then is able to fire them through the zone with some of the best bat speed in the country. He makes hard contact that shows up as home run power in games, with raw power that should be at least plus once he fills out. Griffin’s offensive approach is advanced for his age as well, leading to high contact rates and typically strong game performance, both in terms of getting on base and hitting for power. He’s able to make athletic plays at shortstop with good body control for his size. With a chance for several tools that could be 60s or 70s down the road, Griffin is a standout position player, but he also has significant upside on the mound. He is already into the low 90s and has the physical projection to be throwing in the mid-to-upper 90s by draft time.

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by DirtySox

[Sleepy Harold]

11 hours ago, DirtySox said:

I am really not a fan of the profile at the top of the class. The writeup on Konnor Griffin is more my style though. Exciting sounding player. Sign me up.

 

Young for the class, up the middle talent, seems like an elite athlete, sign me up. 

[Bob Sacamano]

Soooooo someone with knowledge provide some names of your top 5 favorite guys lol

[Quin]

1 hour ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Soooooo someone with knowledge provide some names of your top 5 favorite guys lol

As a fan of "dream big" I do love the idea of Jac Caglianone if scouts even remotely think he can remain a two-way player.

Harold spotlighted Brody Brecht, who MLB has the Sox taking in their way-too-early mock draft.

Reports on both from MLB:

Jac

Quote

Caglianone came back from Tommy John surgery and showed off considerable two-way prowess as a sophomore at Florida in 2023, hitting 33 homers to lead the nation at the plate and striking out 10.5 per nine on the mound. There’s reason to believe there’s better command (6.6 BB/9) to come as he gets further removed from the surgery, with a fastball that touches 99 mph and potentially solid secondary offerings in his changeup and slider.

Brecht

Quote

A former two-sport guy who was also a wide receiver at Iowa, Brecht is now focusing only on baseball, which could help him reach his considerable upside. The 6-foot-4 right-hander needs to refine his command, but the stuff is legit, with a fastball that touches triple digits and an upper-80s slider that misses a ton of bats.

 

[Sleepy Harold]

Quote

White Sox — Mike Sirota, OF, Northeastern

 

A few weeks ago, we discussed whether or not Sirota was the most slept on name in the 2024 draft class. He’s the top mid-major prospect in the class and has an extremely well-rounded toolset and polished game, and is coming off a strong spring season with Northeastern as well as a solid eight-game look in the Cape Cod League. He was one of just three players to clear the following offensive thresholds during the 2023 season: an average of .340 or better; an on-base percentage of .450 or better; a slugging percentage of .650 or better; 15 or more home runs; 15 or more stolen bases; and a walk rate of 15% or better. Astros first rounder Brice Matthews (Nebraska) and Giants fifth rounder Quinn McDaniel (Maine) were the other two.

 

This way too early mock has the Sox selecting OF Mike Sirota from Northeastern, I'm still team Konnor Griffin at the moment.

 

Konnor Griffin, OF/SS/RHP, Jackson Prep, Flowood, Miss.

Griffin possesses some of the loudest pure upside in the 2024 class. He’s a tooled up athlete with an elite, 6-foot-4, 210-pound frame with tons of strength projection remaining and he is a double-plus runner who also has plus raw power and arm strength. He has shown an ability to play both shortstop and center field with solid actions at both positions, and his underclass track record of hitting and overall bat-to-ball skills are encouraging as well. On top of his upside as a hitter, Griffin has real potential on the mound and there are some scouts who prefer him as a pitching prospect although most of the industry leans towards his upside as a hitter.

Edited December 6, 2023 by Sleepy Harold
Griffin write up

[Bob Sacamano]

20 minutes ago, Quin said:

As a fan of "dream big" I do love the idea of Jac Caglianone if scouts even remotely think he can remain a two-way player.

Harold spotlighted Brody Brecht, who MLB has the Sox taking in their way-too-early mock draft.

Reports on both from MLB:

Jac

Brecht

 

I was just looking into him now. Is that why he's only listed as a pitcher and DH rather than another position?

[Timmy U]

Mike Sirota would go great with Mike Soroka, and Mike Sirotka

[DirtySox]

Konnor Griffin and Brody Brecht sound fun to me.

[Autumn Dreamin]

Quote

5. Chicago White Sox

Brody Brecht, RHP — Iowa

HOMETOWN: Ankeny, IA

HEIGHT: 6-4

WEIGHT: 205

BAT/THROW: R-R

The White Sox past tendencies to focus on arms early, plus Brecht’s spin profile as compared to previous White Sox draftees put a big weight on the correlation between the two parties here. In the last two years, Chicago has landed names like Noah Schultz, Peyton Pallette and Grant Taylor early. All three of those pitchers boast big rpms on the breaking ball. Schultz and Taylor came with control and command concerns, something Brecht will likely battle early in his career as well. If he can wrangle in the walks this spring, he mostly certainly has Top 10 upside. It’s arguably the best pure stuff the draft has seen, maybe ever. For what it is worth, Arkansas southpaw Hagen Smith was almost the most correlative pick here, but Brecht edged him out.

[Sleepy Harold]

 

 

 

[Sleepy Harold]

Really love reading the writeups on Konnor.

 

[caulfield12]

On 12/6/2023 at 8:07 AM, Sleepy Harold said:

 

This way too early mock has the Sox selecting OF Mike Sirota from Northeastern, I'm still team Konnor Griffin at the moment.

 

Konnor Griffin, OF/SS/RHP, Jackson Prep, Flowood, Miss.

Griffin possesses some of the loudest pure upside in the 2024 class. He’s a tooled up athlete with an elite, 6-foot-4, 210-pound frame with tons of strength projection remaining and he is a double-plus runner who also has plus raw power and arm strength. He has shown an ability to play both shortstop and center field with solid actions at both positions, and his underclass track record of hitting and overall bat-to-ball skills are encouraging as well. On top of his upside as a hitter, Griffin has real potential on the mound and there are some scouts who prefer him as a pitching prospect although most of the industry leans towards his upside as a hitter.

Last first rounder from MS didn't do so bad...well, not until 2023.

[caulfield12]

On 12/13/2023 at 5:10 AM, Autumn Dreamin said:

Would be cool to have a Hawkeye in the organization again....the last Sox draft pick (Blake Hickman) from ACE/Public League didn't have much of a career, but Brecht is a different animal entirely.

[Quin]

9 hours ago, Sleepy Harold said:

Really love reading the writeups on Konnor.

 

Logic: 2-way players don't really pan out outside of Ohtani.

Me: Yes, that's fair.

MLB Pipeline: Jac has a 70-grade fastball and 65-power.

Me: Son-of-a-b****, I'm in.

[BamaDoc]

If this is indeed a weaker prospect group,  I wonder if there will be a lot of underslot  deals  done to try and gain some flexibility in later rounds?  

[Harold's Leg Lift]

No more over/under slot. They're too fucking stupid to outsmart the system.  They keep trying and they keep fucking it up.  Just take the best player in every round and pay them slot.   Listen to your scouts in rounds 3-10.  They'll find the players who have some upside and will sign for slot.  No more college seniors who sign for $10,000 and are released in 3 months. That's how you end up with zerp depth in your minor league system.  

[Bob Sacamano]

10 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

No more over/under slot. They're too fucking stupid to outsmart the system.  They keep trying and they keep fucking it up.  Just take the best player in every round and pay them slot.   Listen to your scouts in rounds 3-10.  They'll find the players who have some upside and will sign for slot.  No more college seniors who sign for $10,000 and are released in 3 months. That's how you end up with zerp depth in your minor league system.  

Agreed in a lot of aspects of the organization.

[Y2Jimmy0]

51 minutes ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

No more over/under slot. They're too fucking stupid to outsmart the system.  They keep trying and they keep fucking it up.  Just take the best player in every round and pay them slot.   Listen to your scouts in rounds 3-10.  They'll find the players who have some upside and will sign for slot.  No more college seniors who sign for $10,000 and are released in 3 months. That's how you end up with zerp depth in your minor league system.  

They’ll very likely go underslot in the first round because everyone likely will in the 1-4 spots too. It’s a smart strategy to go under in 1 and over in 2 when you don’t have compensatory picks. I trust Mike Shirley. Just let him make the recommendation and get Jeremy Haber out of the room. 

[Harold's Leg Lift]

19 minutes ago, Y2Jimmy0 said:

They’ll very likely go underslot in the first round because everyone likely will in the 1-4 spots too. It’s a smart strategy to go under in 1 and over in 2 when you don’t have compensatory picks. I trust Mike Shirley. Just let him make the recommendation and get Jeremy Haber out of the room. 

Strongly disagree with the first part.  Strongly agree with the second part.

[caulfield12]

10 hours ago, Harold's Leg Lift said:

Strongly disagree with the first part.  Strongly agree with the second part.

Nobody has confirmed that Nick Hostetler is still with the organization or not...?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-hostetler-059175133

 

Still says Special Assistant to the General Manager....interestingly, Haber is listed BENEATH Josh Barfield, so I suppose some would see that as a form of demotion.  

 

Special Assistants to the Senior VP/GM	Nick Hostetler, Marco Paddy, Bill Scherrer, Jim Thome
Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President	Todd Steverson

Edited December 19, 2023 by caulfield12

[Harold's Leg Lift]

https://www.mlb.com/news/first-full-2024-mlb-mock-draft

Barf.  I get it.  The trend is your friend.  Giving the Sox the low ceiling college guy is a great bet but those days are in past.  New leadership. New direction.  New draft philosophy.  The time is now to start hunting high impact players.